Hey all! It's "The Path" here to bring you an excruciatingly detailed run down on advanced stats, commentaries, and comparisons in game plans to my previous post made here!. To start, I'd like to give general team stats. Please feel free to criticize or comment on any part of this post! I'd love to talk!
TOR @ BOS
104 Points 109
41-78 FG(M-A) 36-87
52.6 FG% 41.4
8-31 3PT(M-A) 12-36
25.8 3PT% 33.3
14-25 FT(M-A) 25-30
56.0 FT% 83.3
56 Total Rebounds 48
8 OREB 12
33 DREB 27
17 Assists 24
6 Steals 6
5 Blocks 2
16 Total Turnovers 10
22 Points Off Turnovers 7
10 Fast Break Points 14
50 Points in Paint 46
29 Personal Fouls 21
Kyle Lowry Game MVP Isaiah Thomas
Jared Sullinger Honorable Mentions Marcus Smart, Jae Crowder
Jonas Valanciunas Worst Player Gerald Green
A quick glance at the numbers on paper allows us to draw some general conclusions about the game:
•Toronto horribly shot at the 3.
•Rebound numbers were generally equal. We had 4 more offensive boards which is extremely surprising.
•Even for a team on the road in back-to-back games, 56% FT is not acceptable. Had they been at 80%, the game would have been tied. Lowry suffered an uncharacteristic consecutive miss on 2 FTs late in the 4th.
•The Raptors were able to convert off turnovers at a much more efficient pace. We should emphasize our transition defense in the future.
•29 PFs for Toronto. This is extremely significant. Valanciunas and Powell were both relegated to the bench with 4 PFs at the start of the half. Unacceptable for Toronto's primary front court player & secondary guard.
Now, I'd like to give a spread on advanced offensive stats for both teams and defensive numbers for the C's. Please bear with me as this rundown can become extremely confusing.
F- foul
B- block
O- open, OT- open top, OW- open wing
C- contested, CT- top, CW- wing
{KO}- kickout
PU- post up
BP- bad pass
Dr- TO on drive
Advanced Offensive Stats BOS
Player: Pts, Min, FG pts (A/M) from paint drives, FG (A/M) from drives outside the paint, FG pts (A/M) from in paint contests, FG pts (A/M) from outside paint contests, FG pts (A/M) from on-ball screens, FG pts (A/M) from off-ball screens, Assists Type), OREB (Contested/Open), DREB (Contested/Open), TOs, FT, Miscellaneous.
Thomas: 44 pts, 38 min, 19 (5-7 <FGx5/5F, B, FG>), 4 (2-3 <FGx2/3OT>), 4 (0-0 </Fx2>), 9 (3-8 <3OTF {KO}, 3CT, 3OT/3OW, 3W, 3OT, 3CW, 3OT>), 3 (1-3 <3OT/3CT, FG>), 3 (1-1 <3OT>), 7 Assists (4KO, 1R, 1P, 1HS), 0 (0/0), 4 (0/4), 3 (1PD, 2BP), 15-16.
Thomas had a stellar night with 19 of his 44 points in the 4th quarter. He did best in the deep paint, drawing 7 fouls (2 from contests, 5 from drives). Despite a blocked shot in the 4th, IT steamrolled past the Raptors defense with an impressive 7-10 FG stat line inside the arc. Of his seven 3 pt open shots from the top of the arc, he knocked down four including a crazy shot next to the logo half court at the end of the 1st. My, was that a shot. Perfect and allllllll net! He suffered at the wing arc, failing to drop 1 open and 2 contested shots. His high assists in the kickout (4) benefited Smart, Crowder, Jerebko, and Johnson. His late TO hurt us but he appropriately picked up the slack.
Boston relied on IT directly for 16/28 of their first quarter points & for 8/28 points indirectly for 3 of his assists, 2 of which netted 3 pointer kick outs. Think about this; IT helped generate or score 86% of the team's opening quarter offense. Absolutely nuts but also disappointing for the rest of the team as they shot 1/5 otherwise. IT would remain relatively dormant in the next half, scoring 4 points in the third attributed to smart rests by Brad. His fourth quarter showing would prove to live up to his name, especially at the 6:11 mark when IT made a driving paint finger roll over two defenders. Dwayne Casey even knew what time it was when the camera at 4:55 showed his utter disbelief in response to IT's consecutive successful plays in the paint. Overall, another clutch performance by our Eastern Conference All-Star. I love the little guy.
Crowder: 14 pts, 34 min, 4 (2-3 <F, FG/FG>), 0 (0-1 </FG>), 4 (2-2 <OREBx2/>), 3 (1-4 <3OT {KO}/3CT, 3OW, 3OT>), 0 (0-2 </FG>), 0 (0-1 </FG>), 1 Assist (1R), 3 OREB (ORebPBx2/O), 5 DREB (D/4D), 1 TO (BP), 3-4.
Jae started slow, only knocking down 1 of his 3 attempts beyond the arc. His real star moment that earns him honorable mention for game MVP resides in his two 3rd quarter offensive rebound put backs. It was exactly what the team needed to come back from an 11 pt deficit to a 6 pt deficit before the start of the 4th. Though failing to knock down 2 open looks, Jae still had great paint drives, even drawing a foul from a right handed kiss high off the glass. He let IT take the reins in the 4th, only scoring 3 points on 1-2 at the arc and 0-1 at the mid range. Overall, he performed above average, ensuring IT wasn't carrying the full load of the Celtics' bench relative lack of points.
Smart: 10 pts, 35 min, 4 (2-6 <FGx2/FGx4>), 0 (0/0), 4 (1-3 <3OT/3CT, F>), 0 (0-0 </3OWx2, 3CT>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 5 Assists (2R, 3P), 2 OREB (2O/0), 3 DREB (3D/0), 2 TOs (1PD, 1BP), 2 Steals, 1-2.
Smart was quite frankly the defensive glue for the C's. Despite a low score line with poor shooting, Smart came up big in assists, stops, and rebounds. All his rebounds were contested; furthermore, he managed to wrestle his 4th quarter rebound from 3 opponent players, resulting in a jump ball which he would go on to later win. That moment was probably the game deciding play as Smart left fatigue at the door with 35 big minutes. He also stripped Lowry 1v1 in the 2nd and also forced the Raptors star to travel in the 3rd. I will be delving further into his stellar defensive role later in the post.
Horford: 11 pts, 32 min, 6 (2-2 <FGx2/F>), 0 (0-0), 2 (1-6 <FG/PUx4, OREB>), 3 (1-5 <3OT/3OTx3, 3OW>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 6 Assists (4R, 2P), OREB (1O/0), DREB (0/2), 1 TO (PU), 2-2.
Horford once again experienced shortcomings on the court with a bad shooting night going 1-5 on the arc and 3-8 in the paint. At this point, we must beg the question of his consistency night-to-night. His groin injury may have affected him severely as he failed all 4 FGs off post up attempts, 3 of which were in the first quarter. Normally, his hook and floaters fall with ease; however, yesterday he looked off with some bad timing and lower air time. Another glaring problem was his low number of rebounds: 2 open DREB and 1 contested OREB he failed to put back. Horford must record at least 5 DREB and 2 OREB every game for the C's to get worth out of his contract. You may ask why Brad decided to keep Horford in for 32 min when Zeller (16 min) & Jerebko (19) both had better rebound numbers. Al did well in one category tonight: closing out on open 3 shooters, forcing misses on 4/6 shots. Please refer below for advanced defensive stats.
Jerebko: 6 pts, 19 min, 0 (0-2 </Bx2>), 0 (0-0), 0(0-0), 6 (2-5 <3OT {KO}, 3OT/3OT, 3OWx2>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 2 Assists (2R), 0 OREB, 3 DREB (1D/2D), 0 TO, 1 Block, 0-0.
Jerebko did fairly poorly on the offensive end of the court. In the previous game against the Pistons, Jonas shined with 10 rebounds; however, yesterday, Brad relegated Jerebko to a shooting role, always planted at the arc. He struggled with 2 missed open wing 3s but knocked down 2/3 open looks at the top of the arc. He otherwise suffered 2 blocks at the hands of Nogueira and failed to grab any offensive boards. He netted a +8 attributed to his great protection of the rim against Toronto's paint drives.
Zeller: 4 pts, 16 min, 2 (1-1 <FG/>), 2 (1-2 <FG/FG>), 2 (1-1 <OREB/>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 1 Assist (1AO), 1 Block, 2 OREB (PB, 1O/), 3 DREB (/3D), 0 TOs, 0-0
Zeller played surprisingly well, creating some much needed hyphy moments for the C's. Three notable moments include: Reverse dunk off baseline drive with Smart assist, block on driving layup by Joseph, & an alley-oop to Jaylen from outside the arc. He fought hard at the offensive glass with 2 heavily contested rebounds and 1 put back hook shot. His defensive prowess showed, only giving up 4 points outside the paint and 2 points off a foul. At net +8 with his contract expiring, we should be expecting to see more of Zeller in the immediate future as Brad tries to advertise Tyler to other teams.
Brown: 8 pts, 23 min, 8 (2-5 <F, AO/FG, Bx2, Fx2>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-1 </3OT>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 0 Assists, 1 OREB (/1O), 0 DREB, 0 TO, 4-6.
Jaylen had somewhat of a poor night attacking the glass. He was blocked twice in two consecutive quarters and had some problems finishing on the fast break. He did, however, have great hype value for the team with his alley oop dunk from Zeller and on-court frustration with the Raptors star Lowry. Despite a measly -9, Jaylen's alley-oop at 6:50 in the 4th directly caused a momentum shift in the C's favor.
Johnson: 5 pts, 15 min, 4 (2-2 <FGx2/>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 3 (1-1 <3OT {KO}/>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 0 Assists, 1 OREB (1O/), 1 DREB (/1D), 0 TO, 0-0
Johnson was average on offense, having great shot selection with a paint pass from IT on the drive. He lacked any significant minutes to put up large rebounding numbers.
Rozier: 5 pts, 23 min, 0 (0-4 </FGx3, OREB>), 2 (1-1 <FG/>), 0 (0-0), 3 (1-2 <3CT/3CT>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 1 Assist (HS), 2 OREB (2O/), 5 DREB (/5O), 0 TOs, 0-0
Regardless of his low box score, Rozier had a fantastic game. He had 2 heavily contested rebounds (1 against 3 Raptors) and played with ferocity in the 3-guard lineup in the 4th quarter. His ability to knock down contested 3s at the top of the arc remains impressive. I have high expectations of Rozier's paint plays in the future.
Green: 2 pts, 6 min, 0 (0-1 </FG>), 2 (1-1 <FG/>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-1 </3OT>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 1 Assist (KO), 0 OREB, 1 DREB (/D), 1 TO (Dr), 0-0
Inconsistent, bad shot selection seems to plague Green on his poor shooting nights. Brad recognized this immediately after his TO in the first on a paint drive and relegated Green to the bench for the rest of the game. Regardless of his spectator role, Green's role in the C's cannot be undermined. Off-the-court, he is probably the strongest glue man as a veteran and friend. There is usually more to Green than what meets the eye.
Overall, our offense was horrifying in the first half. With frequent stagnation and bad shot selection in the paint, IT was the only Celtics player to step it up. As the ball started rolling in the 3rd quarter, our players looked to be awake, getting great shots over Lowry, Joseph, and Powell. Crowder & Smart played excellent on the offensive glass, fighting hard to give the C's some much needed 2nd chance points. I would have liked to see more off-ball and on-ball screens to generate wide open looks at both the wing and top of the arc. IT & Crowder were the only ones to utilize this effective play.
Side note: Brad's decision to start Jaylen at the backcourt was mediocre at best. He seemed scared to take the ball up in place of IT and his 16 pt first quarter. I expect Brown to start at the 4 in the future if KO remains injured & Jerebko remains a secondary option.
Onto the Raptors! With a 61-50 lead at the half, the Raptors looked like they were going to run away with the game. They had a combination of poor luck & good close out defense by the C's to force an abysmal 25.8% beyond the arc. To be honest, this was a game where ref calls seemed to heavily favor the C's as Powell and JV were at 4 PFs a piece at the 10 min mark of the 3rd. Joseph also drew a questionable foul late in the 4th. Anyway, onto Lowry!
Advanced Offensive Stats TOR
Lowry: 32 pts, 38 min, 4 (2-3 <FGx2/F, FG>), 18 (6-6 <FG, F, 3CT, FGiso, F, 3OT/F>), 0 (0-0), 8 (3-9 <FG, 3CW, 3CT/3CT, FG, 3CW, 3CTx3>), 2 (1-2 <FG/3CT>), 0 (0-0), 5 Assists (KOx2, AOx2, R), 0 OREB, 2 DREB (/2D), 3 TOs (2Dr, 1BP), 4-6
Lowry was an absolute beast on drives outside the paint. He drew 18 points on a 6-6 with 3 fouls that netted him 4 extra points. The bulky PG shot poorly on contested 3 pt shots at the top of the arc (missed 4). His fatigue definitely showed as he was not driving to the paint often and also gave up 3 TOs (1 travel forced via Smart, 1 strip by Smart, 1 bad pass grabbed by Jerebko). Lowry had a somewhat low number of assists and seemed to lose concentration and the end of the 4th, missing two crucial consecutive FTs. The Raps badly need DeRozan to ease some of the pressure Lowry experiences in the face of the poor guard depth at the bench.
Powell: 12 pts, 32 min, 4 (2-3 <FGx2/FG>), 6 (3-3 <FGx3/>, 2 (1-1 <FG/>), 0 (0-2 </3OW>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 2 Assists (KO, R), 0 OREB, 5 DREB, 4 TOs (BP, out of bounds, 2Dr) 0-0
No other Raptors player showed a lapse in concentration more than Powell. He had 4 TOs and bricked two wide open wing 3s. Dwayne Casey recognized Powell's fatigue from early on and spread the minutes to Ross & Joseph instead. Traditionally playing 6-10 minutes a game, Powell was forced into unfamiliar territory with 72 minutes across 2 back-to-back games. Despite good shot selection on drives in and out of the paint, Powell netted a +0.
Patterson: 10pts, 21 min, 3 (1-1 <FG, F>), 2 (1-1 F/), 2 (0-0 </OREBF>), 3 (1-4 <3OW {KO}/3OW {KO}, 3OW, 3CW>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 0 Assists, 1 OREB (OF/), 2 DREB (/2D), 0 TOs, 3-5
With three drawn fouls in the paint, Patterson seemed to be the only consistent offensive front court player next to Sullinger. Patterson took all 4 of his 3s from the wing (definitely something to note) and failed to drop 2 open looks. I was expecting Casey to play Patterson for more significant minutes as Carroll looked to be suffering on both ends of the court.
Carroll: 6 pts, 38 min, 0 (0-2 </FG>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 6 (2-6 <3OT {KO}, 3OW/3OWx2, 3CT, 3OT>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 1 Assist (R), 1 OREB (O/), 5 DREB (D/4D), 1 TO, 0-0
Carroll severely underperformed with high minutes. Despite an acceptable -2, he failed to drop 2 open wing 3 pointers and 1 open top 3 pointer. His role in the paint was nearly absent on the offensive end as he looked content to chuck up 3s and yell, "Fuck!" (Example 6:26 2nd Q). Casey should have relegated Carroll to the bench early to possibly run a 2 big lineup to shut down IT (Poetl, Nogueira).
Sullinger: 13 pts, 16 min, 4 (2-3 <FG, F/FG>), 0 (0-0), 6 (2-2 <FGx2/Fx2), 3 (1-3 <3OT/3OT {KO}, 3OT>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 1 Assist (R), 2 OREB (FO/O), 4 DREB (2D/2D), 0 TO, 2-5
With a confusing -8, Sullinger was Toronto's only constant threat in the offensive paint. He drew 3 fouls, one of which was off an offensive board. He showed extreme prowess in tricky turnaround fadeaways that he has been practicing extensively in the D league. With a measly 16 minutes centered around the first half, Sullinger may convince Casey to see more playing time going forward as long as he works on his free throws. 2-5 is unacceptable for a player who will constantly draw a lot of contact in the paint.
Nogueira: 10 pts, 28 min, 8 (3-3 <AOx2, FG/F>), 0 (0-0), 2 (0-0 </F>), 0 (0-1 </3OT>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 4 Blocks, 1 OREB (O/), 4 DREB (D/3D), 1 TO (illegal screen), 4-4
Nogueira served as Toronto's defensive anchor with JV relegated to the bench for foul trouble early in the game. With his lanky arms and quick reaction time, Nogueira got blocks on Jerebko, Rozier, Jaylen (2). He fared well on the offensive end going 3-3 in the paint with 2 great alley-oop passes from Lowry. Nogueira has continually proven himself to be worthy of landing the position of the Raptor's second string center.
Valanciunas: 3 pts, 12 min, 2 (1-1 <AO/>), 0 (0-0), 2 (0-0 </F>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 0 Assists, 1 Block, 0 OREB, 3 DREB, 2 TOs (Ox2)
The worst Raptor of the night, JV struggled on both ends of the court. His only points were from an alley-oop by Lowry in the first possession of the game and an off-ball foul. His sole block on Jaylen did little to discourage IT from racking up big points in the paint. His lack of offensive boards severely hurt the Raptors as he had 11 in the last head-to-head. He drew two offensive fouls early, relegating him to the bench with an entire half to play. He arguably lost the Raptors the game with a -16. Silly, silly JV. Trix are for kids.
Ross: 6 pts, 23 min, 4 (2-5 <FGx2/FGx3, F>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 2 (1-5 <FG/3HC, 3OT, 3CTx2>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 3 Assists (2R, 1P), 0 OREB, 6 DREB (/6D), 3 TOs (1BP, 1 out of bounds, 1Dr), 0-2
Ross did not seem like an underperforming player at first glance in-game. However, a deeper analysis of the stats shows a combined 3-10 shooting with 2 consecutive missed FTs. He also had 3 TOs. His only saving grace was that he retrieved 6 open defensive rebounds. +0
Joseph: 8 pts, 23 min, 8 (4-8 <4FG/FGx3, B>), 0 (0-2 </FGx2>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 3 Assists (2KO, 1R, 1P), 0 OREB, 1 DREB (/D), 1 TO (O), 0-0
Joseph was frankly scary in the 3rd as he consistently made some great in-paint jumpers. However, we would see him cool off in the 4th going 0-4 FG. At -9, he and Ross failed to pick up the slack evident from Lowry + Powell's exhaustion due to high minutes.
Overall, the C's did a great job closing out on open 3s which constituted the majority of the Raptor's arc shots. Double teams late in the 4th forced Lowry to take some ill-advised contested 3s from both the wing and top of the arc. JV had his worst game in recent memory with the highest +/- differential of -16. Casey should look to work on concentration issues in the near future.
PHEW! What a list of crazy offensive stats from both Eastern Conference All-Stars. Onto defensive stats for the C's! I didn't bother recording the complementary Raptors stats as it was too much work. I'm also missing a few points here and there.
Player: (opponent made/opponent attempted)
Points off drives to paint (M/A), off drives to outside paint (M/A), off pull up 3s (M/A), off pull up jumpers (M/A), off screens outside arc (M/A), off screens inside arc (M/A), off isolation (M/A), off alley-oops (M/A), Forced TOs, Steals.
Thomas: 2/5. 2 (1-2), 0 (0-0), 3 (1-2 <CW/CT>), 0 (0-0), 2 (1-1), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 1 TO (offensive), 0 Steal
IT had an amazing solo stop on JV, forcing him to kick out from within the paint. How does that even happen?
Crowder 2-7. 0 (0-1 </FG>), 0 (0-0), 3 (1-3 <OW/CT, OT>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-1 </3CT>), 0 (0-0), 0 TO, 1 Steal
Wow. Crowder played absolutely superb defense, allowing only 2/7 shots of his player to fall. He especially did well closing out on contested 3s at the top of the arc.
Smart 8-14. 5 (2-2 <FGx2/F>), 2 (1-1), 9 (3-9 <OT, CTx2/CTx5, OW>), 2 (1-1), 0 (0-0), 2 (1-2), 2 (0-0 </F>), 0 (0-0), 1 TO (travel), 1 Steal
Anyone who chants for Smart to be traded should be shut down here and now. He successfully contested and closed out on 5 3s at the top of the arc and 1 at the wing. He also forced Lowry to travel and managed to strip him of the ball on another possession. Smart's defense alone warrants him honorable mention for game MVP.
Horford 8-14. 8 (3-3 <3FG, F>), 2 (1-3 <FG/FGx2>), 6 (2-6 <OTx2/CT, OT, OT{KO}, OW{KO}>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 1 (0-0 </F>), 4 (2-2), 0 TO, 1 Steal
Horford surpassed expectations, closing out well on the open kick out to pressure Toronto shooters to shoot 2-6. Also interesting to note is the lack of Toronto on-ball screen points off Horford. Al is often pulled up to the arc for PnRs and suffers from alley-oops or open 3s as a result. The absence of PnR points may indicate that Horford did better in closing out the angles of shots.
Jerebko: 3-9. 6 (3-8 <F, FGx2/FGx5>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-1 </OW {KO}>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 1 TO
Jerebko also had a great defensive showing denying 5 paint drives. His forced TO on Lowry via a bad pass in the 4th helped to bring the C's back roaring.
Zeller: 2-4. 2 (0-0 </F>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-1 </3OT>), 4 (2-2 <FGx2/F>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 0 TO, 0 Steals
Average showing for Zeller. Nothing else to note.
Brown: 2-4. 0 (0-1 </FG>), 3 (1-2 <F/FG>), 3 (1-1 <3OW {KO}/>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 0TOs, 1 Steal
The rookie still needs some work. Not much else to say as a big part of the success of the C's defense was the unluckiness of some of the Raptor's open 3s.
Johnson: 4-7. 2 (0-1 </FG, F>), 2 (1-1), 3 (1-2 <3OT/3OT>), 2 (1-1), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 2 (1-1 <AO/>), 0 Steals, 2 TOs (O, P)
Johnson fared well in the defensive paint, forcing an offensive on JV & a turnover on Powell. He was 1-2 in contesting open arc shots. Not too shabby for a slow, lanky big. I was expecting some blocks to be generated by Johnson; however, he didn't have many chances as the Raptors prioritized 3s and mid range jumpers.
Rozier: 3-5. 4 (2-2), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-2 </OW, OT>), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 2 (1-1), 0 (0-0), 0 Steals, 0 TO
Rozier did well to close out on the perimeter; however, he was abused quite often by Lowry on iso plays in and out of the paint. I was hoping he would come up with a steal on the full court press; however, the Raptors guards were wary for Rozier's quick hands. Overall, a great showing for Rozier with 2 OREB & 5 DREB.
Green: 0-2. 0 (0-1), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-1), 0 (0-0), 0 (0-0), 1 Steal, 0 TO
With just 6 minutes in the game, Green didn't have much of a chance to showcase his defense; however, a steal in such a short period of time is always impressive.
Advanced stats team totals BOS
Paint drives: 12-25
Out of paint drives: 4-7
Pull up 3s: 9-27, missing 4 3s
Pull up jumpers: 4-5
FG screens: 1-1
3 pt screens: 0-3
Iso: 3-5
Alley-oops; 3-3
What can we infer from these team stats?
•We did a decent job protecting the paint during drives.
•We were weak against mid range pull up jumpers.
•We did well dealing with on-ball screen situations beyond the arc. Special props to Crowder & Smart.
•We gave up 3 alley-oops, the first within 30 seconds of the game.
Next, I would like to compare my game plans outlined in the prior post to Brad's execution. I will also discuss how Dwayne Casey employed some questionable rotations in the 2nd half.
Brad followed through with 3/4 of my offensive tactics and 3/4 of my defensive strats.
Generate kick-out or wide open 3s.
Completed with ease. IT alone had 4 kick out assists on made 3s. He had many more with Smart but our players were having some unfriendly bounces at the rim. Of our 7 made kick outs, only one dropped from the wing. This is surprising knowing we have excellent wing shooters in Crowder, Jerebko, & IT. Overall great job generating looks via hard drives to the paint.
Drive to the paint with frequent PnRs with fast roll men.
Without KO, we didn't have depth in fast roll men. Smart/Horford had a few points but Rozier/Jerebko got denied twice at the rim. I suspect Jaylen will be seeing more practice in the PnR, rolling with IT & Smart to deal with situations in which KO is not available.
Post up Horford on Valanciunas & Nogueira.
"However, this strategy may be ill-advised on the bruiser JV as Horford looked to still be suffering from his groin injury in the game against the Pistons. Brad will need to be quick in changing gears if this option dies out."
This was exactly what happened as Horford had 3 failed post up attempts in the 1st. Brad recognized this and immediately subbed Zeller for Al at 3:58. Horford would later attempt another post up in the 3rd to no avail. We have to seriously reconsider this tactic as Horford may be in league contention for one of the most inconsistent center post ups.
Increasing minutes for Jonas Jerebko, Gerald Green, & Jaylen Brown.
I was surprised at Brad's decision to start Jaylen at the backcourt. He proved ineffective as he looked a bit lost, especially on paint drives that he usually executes with confidence. I would advise Brad to at least start Brown at the 4 if unavoidable. Crowder can always fill the role of shooting guard. As for Green, Brad saw that he was cold immediately. At 6 minutes, Green could not redeem his selfish play, taking an ill-advised 3 and driving mid range jumper. Jerebko saw 19 minutes as the old Jonas: content with staying behind the arc waiting for kickouts. He went 2/5 on 2 open wing and 3 open top 3 pointers. His defense was not stellar like in the game against the Pistons; consequently, Brad relegated more minutes to Zeller.
"As a final offensive note, I think Smart is tough enough to play large minutes for both the 1st and 2nd string. As soon as IT subs out, Smart/Brown should be the 1st replacement option. Having Smart at 35+ minutes will immensely help the team on both ends of the court. Brad should look to sub Smart in early for IT so that Lowry/Powell will be worn down by the 4th quarter."
Smart at 35 min perfectly. He was breath-taking at both ends of the court, never showing a drop in intensity as he contested the hell out of his last OREB & jump ball. We need to give him the kudos he deserves. Watch him blossom with the C's.
The Powell paint drive. Suffocate him under the rim.
We did a decent job suppressing Powell's paint drive. He was forced to kick out many times but carefully selected his shots, going 6-7 in the paint. Keeping him at 12 points forced Casey to bring in the tertiary guard options like Ross (6) and Joseph (8), both of whom had a worse array of shots.
The Lowry PnR
Our strongest defensive point. Brad mentioned this point as the 2nd biggest thing to watch out for. With Lowry stunted without a strong pick, he was forced to chuck up many contested shots. Lowry would have most likely seen a 40+ pt night had Smart and Crowder failed to adequately get around the screen.
Crashing the paint.
We were very adept, grabbing twice the offensive rebounds compared to Toronto. JV in foul trouble combined with Noguiera's singular offensive board had us locked down in defense despite the 31 3 pt attempts from Toronto. Special mention to the 2nd little guy, Rozier, for an outstanding offensive rebound late in the 4th.
Additional Point: Increased minutes for Amir Johnson.
This was a hit-or-miss. Amir was either going to get 3 blocks or none going into the night. Unfortunately, it was the latter. Brad opted to give the minutes to Zeller in the end which worked extremely in our favor. Zeller's power gave him some intensity, going for put backs on offensive rebounds.
As a minor defensive note, I'd like to highlight how well the C's helped IT when he was beat in the screen or drive. Our rotations allowed IT to only be in a position to contest 5 shots.
"Shutting down Powell & JV on the defensive glass will likely decide the game as the Raptors will struggle to put up points via other perimeter shooters. I hope Brad emphasizes this point with the Celtics tonight."
And emphasize he did. Toronto had very few secondary options as Carroll only put up a pathetic 6 points. It shocked everyone that Sullinger did so well in JV's place; so much so that he landed 8 out of his 13 points within 8 minutes of the first half.
*A thought on Dwayne Casey's game plan and rotations."
I believe Casey was expecting a much bigger shooting night from Carroll & Valanciunas. Casey seemed afraid to give Sullinger significant minutes, opting instead for Noguiera's blocking ability & Carroll's ability to flex between PF & SF. This decrease in minutes seemed to directly coincide with Zeller's increased presence on the court. Why would Casey not fight fire with fire? Sullinger can comfortably post up on Zeller in a power matchup and draw crucial fouls. Casey looked too contempt coming out of the half to shove Lowry the ball and wait.
I would go as far to say that Casey lost the game for the Raptors from a strategy perspective. He needed to prioritize offensive rebounds instead of hope for the magic of Lowry to unfold. Without JV, Casey looked lost, distributing the 53 minutes for centers amongst Nogueira (28), Sullinger (16), & Poetl (9). A lineup including Sullinger and Nogueira in the last few minutes of the 4th may have proved effective in shutting down IT & grabbing offensive rebounds for Lowry. The Raptors relied purely on perimeter shooting in the last 5 minutes of the game with only Nogueira to look for offensive boards. Casey looked flustered, even so far as to have his head & emotions carried away by IT's stellar performance. A top team coach cannot afford to gawk in awe, submitting to the flow of the game. Call timeouts and get your players' heads straight.
Conclusions & closing notes
With each team missing a shooting starter, the dynamics and strategies should have shifted away from perimeter shooting and more towards paint drives and passes. While Boston implemented these changes with IT's/Rozier's prowess in line drives, Toronto was content to let Lowry iso or get double teamed while trying to shoot 3s. Toronto dearly hurt with at best, a horrible showing for JV on both ends of the court. The intensity of the Boston bench showed more brightly this game than any of their last 15 games. With a rematch less than a month away, both teams should aim to keep their players healthy and rested. C's have a bright future ahead as they show one of the strongest set of tertiary players in the league. It would not be surprising if Brad decides to rest Horford & KO in an attempt to heal both players while congruently giving more experience and trade value to Tyler Zeller.
A fantastic game with great home crowd support! I can't wait for 03/01 when these teams clash once again. Cleveland, we're coming for that 1st seed!
goCs
Submitted February 03, 2017 at 01:03AM by Noanswer_merelyapath